Top 10 Positive stories of 2009!

[SASKFARMER3]

Ah for me this is a tough list.
10- No world climate deal.
9- Cheaper fert and some chem late fall of 2009.
8- Cheaper rent in 2010 as result of crash in grain prices.
7- Cheaper Diesel and gas and oil.
6- Equipment shortages a thing of the past as year draws to a close. Companies are trying to create a shortage but their are deals out their.
5- Excellent fall rains to replenish the sub soil.
4- Lots of land up for grabs for 2010 some are just ready to call it quits and get out after the fall from hell.
3- Stocks bottomed and lots of room for profit, buy buying at bottom.
2- Dollar at par so maybe just maybe the US price on products and Canadian will be the same. Truck 40000 in us vs 57000 in Canada. Why is a book 4.50 us vs 5.75 Canadian.
1- I was right and MR potash was wrong the worlds farmers wont be bent over and driven home. One for farmers of the world.

[SASKFARMER3]

Please continue with your own lists these were created last night on the ski hill after a few wobblies.

[furrowtickler]

Your positives our negatives
- rents continue to soar - check out Kramer Auction web site and look at the results of a land auction Dec 21st. Then look carefully at the assesments. Out of control, is all I can Say.
- Very little land available and selling at very high rates.

[SASKFARMER3]

furrow we have one guy who could pay what ever in our area. I mean name price he has the cash. Then their are a few very few young guys trying to expand then their are a few larger farmers that if some one selling hates you the other two get a try and vs versa. In last 10 years hasn't been any put on block or advertised for sale in our area. Funny place but I guess a good place. High yielding and cheap dirt.

[checking]

Positive stories, looking on the bright side; that's the focus I like. Not bombing down the 2009 slope, losing a ski, veering out of bounds, and doing a header into a tree!

It's said that potash is not a commodity. It is a non substitutable necessity. All other fertilizers can be made from plentiful, cheap, natural gas.

Be happy that our prairie soils are still rich enough in potash that we didn't need to buy $1000.00/ton product. I don't give a hoot about China, India, or Brazilian potash deficiencies. All they proved is that short term applying less didn't lower their yields in 2009. Tried long term and our plentiful grain inventories might find a home at a decent price. We should have been cheering the CEO on.

A recession got in the way of the Sask Potash idea that made the alternate supplier blink before the big consumers needed to restock. Anything, but what happened to potash, would be a positive story for our farms.

[charliep]

My top 5 (couldn't think of 10) - no order of importance.

1) Averting in catastrophy in a year that could have been a weather disaster across the prairie. Mother nature challenged you all year but in the end gave what was needed to get the crop in the bin. I shutter to think what would have happened if November would have been a snowy/cold month. Any lessons to be learned moving ahead either in terms of cropping or needs in R&D?

2) Performance of new varieties under a wide variety of weather challenges. Ditto tillage technology. What would have been the outcome of this past year if you used conventional tillage and older varieties?

3) Demand side growth on canola and pulses. Western Canada is growing its customer base for these crops at the same time we are increasing production - a good thing and a credit to the Canola Council of Canada and Pulse Canada.

4) Reduced costs of fertilizer and some other inputs.

5) A year when disciplined marketers could really put extra dollars in their pocket by following a market plan.